Lupita Nyong’o. PHOTO/COURTESYBy OUR CORRESPONDENTnewsdesk@reporter.co.keOscar winner Lupita Nyongo is among nine Kenyan women who have been nominated the New African Woman Awards in nine different categories.Others include Tabitha Karanja, Founder and CEO – Keroche Breweries (New African Woman in Business), Gina Din Kariuki, Founder Gina Din Corporate Communications (New African Woman in Media) and Stella Kilonzo, Division Chief, Capital Markets Development – African Development Bank (New African Woman in Finance).Others are Tegla Loroupe, marathon icon – ambassador: The Refugee Olympic Team, Vivian Cheruiyot, athlete – Olympic Gold Medalist (New African Woman in Sport), Jennifer Riria, CEO Kenya Women Holding (New African Woman in Business), Anne Wanjuhi Njoroge, Founder & CEO of The Web Tekies LTD and RootEd Africa (New African Woman in Health, Science & Innovation) and Rahab Karanja Kariuki, MD Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise Ltd-ACRE AFRICA (New African Woman in Agriculture)The New African Woman Awards in its second year, has become a platform to recognise African women in women’s leadership and excellence on the continent.Chosen in 12 categories, 68 groundbreaking women have made the final list which will now be adjudicated by a special panel of judges, and the winners in each category will be announced on 12 April at a Gala Dinner in Dakar, Senegal.The new UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, Somalia’s first female presidential candidate Fadumo Dayib, Gambia’s doyen of democratic change, Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang, Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the South African Olympic gold medallist Caster Semenya and her fellow countrywoman, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, are some of the names that made the final list from the thousands of nominations received.Organised by the pan-African bi-monthly, New African Woman magazine, the Awards – which celebrate and honour exceptional African women who have made a positive impact and contributions in their communities, and the continent at large, in the past 12 months – take place on the eve of the New African Woman Forum, which takes place at Dakar’s Terrou-Bi Hotel on 13 April.The New African Woman Awards and Forum, first held in London in March last year, under the theme “Changing The Game”, were born from the ethos that launched New African Woman magazine nine years ago: to boldly and positively highlight, share and represent African women’s issues, on the premise that women are an indispensable element in Africa’s growth story, and to celebrate the women contributing to that change.

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